Hassan el-Blidi

Hassan el-Blidi (died April 1956) was an Algerian pimp and drug dealer who was active in the Casbah of the city of Algiers. Hassan el-Blidi was assassinated by Ali La Pointe in 1956 for refusing to stop trafficking drugs and women.

Biography
Hassan el-Blidi was born in Blida, French Algeria, to a Sunni Muslim family. el-Blidi eventually moved to Algiers, the capital of Algeria. el-Blidi became a street criminal and was the owner of a ring of Arab prostitutes and drug traffickers in the Casbah of Algiers, the center of the city as well as the Arab quarter of the city. He was friends with Ali La Pointe, a younger street criminal who was involved in gambling, vandalism, and other minor charges like insulting a police officer on duty.

However, in April of 1956 the FLN (National Liberation Front) Algerian rebels proclaimed that they were responsible for the people of the Casbah, and under their leader Saadi Yacef, they began to clean house before they could take on the French. They declared it illegal for any business venues to sell alcohol, declared drugs illegal, and prostitutes, drunks, and junkies would be targeted. Offenders would be punished, while repeat offenders would be killed.

This law led to Ali La Pointe, now an FLN member, being sent to warn el-Blidi. el-Blidi carried out two offenses, and Ali warned him that if he offended the laws one more time, then he would be sentenced to death. Hassan laughed at this notion and told Ali to leave, but as Hassan attempted to flee, Ali drew an MP40 and gunned him down with five shots to the chest. The two men accompanying Hassan were told to flee by Ali, who warned them that the Casbah would be cleaned up.